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> Plus recycling plastic is pointless - it's environmentally better to burn plastic for energy. Source please? This seems very counter intuitive.

coldtea 7y ago
https://www.citytosea.org.uk/plastic-recycling-doesnt-work/ https://www.citytosea.org.uk/plastic-recycling-doesnt-work/ "For some products, recycling is an effective solution. Aluminium cans and glass, for example, are infinitely recyclable and can be reprocessed in the UK. But for plastics, it’s a different story. For one thing, there are so many types of plastic it makes it hard to sort correctly. Consumers inadvertently mix recyclable and non-recyclable plastics in the same box, which contaminates the load and requires there to be further sorting and segregating, which not all collectors do, and effects the value and re-usability of the plastic when it’s resold. " https://www.insider.com/mit-research-andrew-mcafee-says-recycling-is-useless-2019-10 https://www.insider.com/mit-research-andrew-mcafee-says-recy... "Recycling plastic uses up a lot of resources, and after all the hauling around, sorting, and processing of bottles and containers, it often ends up getting thrown away or burned" One 2017 report published in Science Advances suggested only 9% of the plastic that we ever use is recycled, while consulting firm McKinsey estimates just 16% of plastics are "reprocessed" and turned into new plastic goods. People don't have much use for the small portion of plastic that does get recycled anyway. In the European Union, only 6% of plastic demand is for recycled plastics.
- viggity 7y ago
  while glass is technically "infinitely recyclable", it almost never is recycled into glass. it requires far too much sorting and the cost the raw materials that go into glass (sand) is dirt cheap, so it is far less energy intensive to use fresh ingredients. Most glass gets crushed and turned into "cullet" and it is used as a gravel replacement for road beds.
- ZeroGravitas 7y ago
  That didn't seem to actually try to support the statement. Here's another UK based meta-study that suggest recycling is always better than incineration for plastic in the UK: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Environmental_benefits_of_recycling_2010_update.3b174d59.8816.pdf http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Environmental_benefi... Those are 2010 numbers so I'd guess the lower carbon grid makes the case for recycling better. In general incineration across multiple materials seems to do better than landfill but worse than recycling.
NeedMoreTea 7y ago
It's too cheap when new, provides little value as a recycled product and is far easier than glass or metals to corrupt by getting contaminants in the batch. Contaminants could be as simple as a bottle of the wrong type of plastic or remnants of lid or labels. Better to discourage plastic use through an escalating tax, use home compostable alternative plastics and burn what is unavoidably produced in the local combined heat and power (that most places don't have). Of course it's still a hydrocarbon so ideally you want carbon capture and storage with that.

coldtea 7y ago

https://www.citytosea.org.uk/plastic-recycling-doesnt-work/ https://www.citytosea.org.uk/plastic-recycling-doesnt-work/ "For some products, recycling is an effective solution. Aluminium cans and glass, for example, are infinitely recyclable and can be reprocessed in the UK. But for plastics, it’s a different story. For one thing, there are so many types of plastic it makes it hard to sort correctly. Consumers inadvertently mix recyclable and non-recyclable plastics in the same box, which contaminates the load and requires there to be further sorting and segregating, which not all collectors do, and effects the value and re-usability of the plastic when it’s resold. " https://www.insider.com/mit-research-andrew-mcafee-says-recycling-is-useless-2019-10 https://www.insider.com/mit-research-andrew-mcafee-says-recy... "Recycling plastic uses up a lot of resources, and after all the hauling around, sorting, and processing of bottles and containers, it often ends up getting thrown away or burned" One 2017 report published in Science Advances suggested only 9% of the plastic that we ever use is recycled, while consulting firm McKinsey estimates just 16% of plastics are "reprocessed" and turned into new plastic goods. People don't have much use for the small portion of plastic that does get recycled anyway. In the European Union, only 6% of plastic demand is for recycled plastics.

viggity 7y ago
while glass is technically "infinitely recyclable", it almost never is recycled into glass. it requires far too much sorting and the cost the raw materials that go into glass (sand) is dirt cheap, so it is far less energy intensive to use fresh ingredients. Most glass gets crushed and turned into "cullet" and it is used as a gravel replacement for road beds.
ZeroGravitas 7y ago
That didn't seem to actually try to support the statement. Here's another UK based meta-study that suggest recycling is always better than incineration for plastic in the UK: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Environmental_benefits_of_recycling_2010_update.3b174d59.8816.pdf http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Environmental_benefi... Those are 2010 numbers so I'd guess the lower carbon grid makes the case for recycling better. In general incineration across multiple materials seems to do better than landfill but worse than recycling.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

It's too cheap when new, provides little value as a recycled product and is far easier than glass or metals to corrupt by getting contaminants in the batch. Contaminants could be as simple as a bottle of the wrong type of plastic or remnants of lid or labels. Better to discourage plastic use through an escalating tax, use home compostable alternative plastics and burn what is unavoidably produced in the local combined heat and power (that most places don't have). Of course it's still a hydrocarbon so ideally you want carbon capture and storage with that.